Methods of producing sheets of wood veneer and the sheets of wood veneer so produced



April 4, 1967 M. ALLAN ETAL 3,312,582

I METHODS OF PRODUCING SHEETS OF WOOD VENEER AND THE SHEETS OF WOOD VENEER S0 PRODUCED Filed March 25, 1963 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Means ALLAN MoRRis, BERMAN B y if ltorney April 4, 1967 M. ALLAN ETAL 3,312,582

METHODS OF PRODUCING SHEETS OF WOOD VENEER AND THE SHEETS OF WOOD VENEER SO PRODUCED Filed March 25, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MQRRES ALLAN mmis BERHAN 8/0 A itorney United States Patent Claims priority,

This invention relates to methods of producing sheets of wood veneer, and to the wood veneer so produced. The method according to the present invention is concerned with producing veneers having varying flowers (i.e., the patterning of the wood) from a common wooden block, the flower of the veneers so produced running substantially normal to the grain of the wood.

When a veneer lamination is cut from a wooden log in the direction of the grain, i.e., in a direction from the bottom to the top of the tree from which the wooden log is prepared, the flower of the veneer lamination produced runs substantially parallel to the grain of the veneer lamination.

Sheets of wood veneer are conventionally cut directly from a log which may have been squared or quartered and the quality of the veneer obtained depends entirely on the growth of the tree from which the log was taken. In general, only a comparatively small proportion of the available trees yield logs from which high quality Wood veneers may be sliced, and accordingly many proposals have been made for producing sheets of wood veneer which have the appearance of having been cut from a tree, the growth of which has been regular.

The methods of manufacturing sheets of wood veneer which simulate natural veneers of high quality have all involved the assembly of a plurality of veneer laminations into a block from which the final product is cut. However, none of the methods proposed hitherto have yielded sheets of wood veneer which have an artificial flower and which are of a commercially acceptable quality.

In fact it has hitherto been considered impossible to obtain a veneer of high quality which has an artificial flower.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method of producing a sheet of wood veneer comprising the steps of cutting a plurality of veener laminations, forming from the veneer laminations a V-shaped block in which the grains of the laminations are in a direction across the V of the block, and slicing sheets of Wood veneer from the block with a knife, the sheets of veneer obtained having smooth surfaces suitable for polishing.

The important feature of the block which is sliced by the knife is that each of the veneer laminations comprising the block has the configuration of a V with the grains of all the laminations in a direction across the V of the block. When it is said that the grain of a lamination is across the V of the block, it is meant that the direction of the grain is substantially straight down one arm of the V to the apex of the V and then substantially straight up the other arm of the V.

The profile of the actual block is immaterial provided that the individual laminations have the configuration of a V as described. The block may itself have the shape of a V or it may first be trimmed to a substantially rectangular shape, or indeed to any shape which is appropriate and suitable for the veneer slicing machine by which the final veneers are to be sliced from the block.

A preferred embodiment of the invention provides a method of producing a sheet of wood veneer comprising the steps of cutting a plurality of veneer laminations, ar-

ranging the said plurality of veneer laminations in a stack with the grain ofthe veneer laminations in parallel, applying an adhesive between the laminations comprising the stack, forming from the stack of veneer laminations by pressing a V-shaped block in which the grains of the laminations are in a direction across the V of the block, and slicing sheets of wood veneer from the block with a knife, the sheets of veneer obtained having smooth surfaces suitable for polishing.

In order to produce a veneer having a flower similar to that of a natural veneer, the sheets of veneer may be sliced from the block by the knife of a flat cutting machine acting along the length of the V of the block.

The term along the length of the V of the block indicates the direction at right angles to that previously denoted by the expression across the V of the block. In this connection, it is particularly to be noted that it is the length of the V which is referred to and not the length of the block. The length of the V is a fixed direction in a block irrespective of the dimensions of the block, so that sometimes the length of the block will be in the same direction as the length of the V of the block, while alternatively the longer dimensions or length of the block may be at right angles to the length of the V of the block.

Conveniently the sheets of veneer are sliced from the block by the knife of a flat cutting machine acting at an angle to the length of the V of the block.

By varying the angle to the length of the V at which the block is sliced, it is possible to produce varying flowers in the veneer.

Preferably the slicing of the veneers from the block is commenced at the apex of the V of the block.

In accordance with a particular embodiment of the invention, the sheets of veneer are sliced from the block by the knife of a flat cutting machine acting substantially at right-angles to the length of the V of the block, whereby the sheet of veneer obtained has a herring-bone pattern.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the V-shaped block is mounted between the chucks of a rotary cutting machine with the grains of the veneer laminations extending from one chuck of the machine to the other, and veneer laminations are sliced from the block with the blade of the rotary cutting machine' The veneer laminations sliced in this way may be cut from a continuous sheet of veneer.

The invention also comprehends a fabricated sheet of wood veneer comprising a slice of veneer cut from a block formed in a V-shape by a plurality of natural wood laminations which have been bonded together with the grain of the wood in all laminations extending in the same direction and across the V of the block, the slice of veneer having smooth surfaces suitable for polishing.

The invention further comprehends a V-shaped block of veneer laminations in which the grains of the laminations are in a direction across the V of the block.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, one embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows diagrammatically a glued stack of veneer laminations in a press having male and female V-shaped jigs,

FIGURE 2 shows in perspective the V-shaped block prepared by pressing the stack in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 shows in perspective the inverted V-shaped block of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 shows the veneer produced by cutting the block of FIGURE 2 by a knife in a plane parallel to ABCD,

FIGURE =5 shows the veneer produced by cutting the block of FIGURE 3 by a knife in a plane parallel to ABYZ,

FIGURE 6 shows the veneer produced by cutting the block of FIGURE 3 in 'a plane parallel to M.N.O.P,

FIGURE 7 shows a veneer lamination cut from a wooden flitch in a direction from bottom to top of the tree,

FIGURE 8 shows diagrammatically a'V-shaped block according to the invention, mounted between the chucks of a rotary cutting machine, and

FIGURE 9 shows a veneer lamination cut from the block of FIGURE 8 by the blade of a rotary cutting machine. I

Referring now to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, a glued stack of veneer laminations 1 is prepared in the usual manner, namely by stripping sheets of wood from a log which has preferably been steamed to aid cutting, cutting the sheets of wood into laminations of a predetermined size and free from imperfections, selecting a number of veneer laminationsand applying glue to the veneer laminations in the conventional manner and placing the laminations in a stack, so that the grain and the flower of the wood in each veneer lamination runs in the same direction throughout the stack of veneer laminations.

Before the glue has set, the stack of veneer laminations 1 is placed on the lower female V-shaped jig 2 in a press with the grain of the wood in a direction across the V of the lower jig 2. The stack of veneer laminations is then compressed by applying pressure to the male V-shaped jig 3 and compressing the block to set the glue.

The glue may be any suitable synthetic resin adhesive, but in each case the glues are allowed to set without the application of any heat or steam.

The V-shaped block prepared in this manner is shown in FIGURE 2, and the natural flower and grain are indicated by numerals t and 5 respectively.

In order to produce the veneers by the preferred method of the invention, the block 1 is inverted and according to the flower of the veneer desired, the block may be tilted at any angle cc between and 90 to a knife shown generally at 6, and the block is then cut by the knife acting at the appropriate angle a tothe length of the V of the block. The knife 6 is the knife of a flat I cutting machine.

At an angle a2 corresponding to cutting the block in the plane A.B.C.D. the veneer produced is shown in FIGURE 4, and it is found that the artificial flower 7 0f the veneer cut in this way runs normally to the direction of the grain 8.

When a:45 and 90 corresponding to cutting the block in planes parallel to planes AB YZ and MNOP, the veneers produced are shown respectively in FIG- URES and 6, and it is seen that the artificial flower 7 of the veneer runs substantially normal to the grain 8 of the wood. The herring-bone flower of the veneer of FIGURE 6 will be particularly noted.

For reasons of comparison a sheet of wood cut from a wooden flitch is shown in FIGURE 7. The grain 8 of the wood runs substantially parallel to the flower 7 of the wood when the flitch is cut in the direction of the grain, i.e. in the direction from the bottom to the top of the tree.

Before slicing veneers from the V-shaped block, the block may be trimmed into a rectangular block, but of course the individual veneer laminations will still remain distorted into a V-shape. All the veneers sliced from a squared or rectangular block with oc=0 or 90 will have the same size.

Attempts to cut veneers from a V-shaped block in which the grain of the individual veneer laminations runs parallel to the apex of the V, i.e., along the length of the V of the block by a knife acting in the same direction results in a veneer which easily disintegrates and cannot be polished, and, even if a thin veneer is cut by other means, for example sawn from such a block, the veneer cannot be polished.

9 which has been made by the method described with reference to FIGURE 1, and then trimmed so as to have a substantially cylindrical outline, the block 9 being mounted between the chucks 10 of a rotary cutting machine.

As the block 9 is revolved in the rotary cutting machine, a series of veneer laminations is cut from the surface 11 of the block 9. The figure 12 which is present on a veneer lamination 13 cut from the block 9 in the rotary cutting machine is shown in FIGURE 9.

As shown in FIGURE 8, the trimmed block 9 of veneer laminations, the grain of which laminations is in a direc tion extending from one chuck 10 of the rotary cutting machine to the other chuck 10', is mounted eccentrica-lly between the chucks 10. Consequently a series of veener laminations 13' is cut from the block and each of these veener laminations 13 will have a slightly different width which decreases for each successive lamination because the block 9 is becoming smaller in size. However, the block 9 may alternatively be mounted symmetrically between the chucks 10 so that a continuous sheet of veener is sliced from the block by the blade of the rotary cutting machine. This continuous sheet of veneer will have a repeating pattern of FIGURE 12 on it and may then be repeating pattern offlgure 12 on it and may then be subsequently cut into a series of veneer laminations of a desired size.

In all the embodiments of the invention which have been described and illustrated, the V-shaped block has a single V and the grain of the veneer laminations runs across the V of the block, the length of the V of the block being substantially linear. However, if desired, some further shaping may be impressed on the length of the V of the block, whereby variations in the figure of the veeners sliced from the block is obtained.

The veener laminations from which the V-shaped block is made may be all of the same colour, or may include veneer laminations of different colours so that specially controlled coloured figured veneer can be obtained. The coloured veener laminations may be natural colour variations or may include artificially coloured veener laminations.

The veeners produced by the method of the pressure invention are mechanically strong and pliable and moreover, when polished, give rise to an extremely smooth and regular surface.

We claim:

1. A method of producing a fabricated sheet of wood vineer each having a grain direction, comprising the steps 0 cutting a plurality of natural wood veneer sheets to a selected uniform shape;

assembling said plurality of natural wood veneer sheets in a stack;

orientating the natural wood veneer sheets comprising the stack so that the grain direction of all of the natural wood veneer sheets lies generally in the same direction throughout the stack; positioning the stack of natural wood veneer sheets in relation to a press whose complementary male and female jigs each comprise a single V so that the grain direction of all of the natural wood veneer sheets in the stack is generally perpendicular to the apex of the V of the male jig of the press;

pressing the stack of natural wood veneer sheets in the press to impose a V-shape on the stack;

bonding the natural wood veneer sheets comprising the pressed stack and thereby producing a V-shaped block of natural veener sheets;

presenting the side of the block which contains the inverted V of a veneer sheet included in the said V- shaped block to the knife of a veneer slicing machine; and

slicing a fabricated sheet of wood veneer from the block by the action of the said knife to include at least 5 6 several layers of the stack and at an angle to the References Cited by the Examiner V of the block. 2. A fabricated sheet of Wood veneer, the wood veneer UNITED STATES PATENTS including a grain in a given grain direction, comprising: 533,435 2 1 95 b l,

a plurality of overlapped p sections of Wood 5 2,245,170 6/1941 Von Ende et a1. 156-255 X veneer laminations bonded together by a glue and exhibiting a regular patterning of the Wood; FOREIGN PATENTS the grain direction of the wood of the veneer lamina- 395 4 1 4 1944 France tions being at right angles to the general direction of the mapped V'Shaped Seams and 10 EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

the veneer having smooth uniplanar exposed surfaces suitable for polishing. H. F. EPSTEIN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A METHOD OF PRODUCING A FABRICATED SHEET OF WOOD VENEER EACH HAVING A GRAIN DIRECTION, COMPRISING THE STOPS OF; CUTTING A PLURALITY OF NATURAL WOOD VENEER SHEETS TO A SELECTED UNIFORM SHAPE; ASSEMBLING SAID PLURALITY OF NATURAL WOOD VENEER SHEETS IN A STACK; ORIENTATING THE NATURAL WOOD VENEER SHEETS COMPRISING THE STACK SO THAT THE GRAIN DIRECTION OF ALL OF THE NATURAL WOOD VENEER SHEETS LIES GENERALLY IN THE SAME DIRECTION THROUGHOUT THE STACK; POSITIONING THE STACK OF NATURAL WOOD VENEER SHEETS IN RELATION TO A PRESS WHOSE COMPLEMEENTARY MALE AND FEMALE JIGS EACH COMPRISE A SINGLE V SO THAT THE GRAIN DIRECTION OF ALL OF THE NATURAL WOOD VENEER SHEETS IN THE STACK IS GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE APEX OF THE V OF THE MALE JIG OF THE PRESS; PRESSING THE STACK OF NATURAL WOOD VENEER SHEETS IN THE PRESS TOIMPOSE A V-SHAPE ON THE STACK; BONDING THE NATURAL WOOD VENEER SHEETS COMPRISING THE PRESSED STACK AND THEREB Y PRODUCING A V-SHAPED BLOCK OF NATURAL VENEER SHEETS; PRESENTING THE SIDE OF THE BLOCK WHICH CONTAINS THE INVERTED V OF A VENEER SHEET INCLUDED IN THE SAID VSHAPED BLOCK TO THE KNIFE OF A VENEER SLICING MACHINE; AND SLICING A FABRICATED SHEET OF WOOD VENEER FROM THE BLOCK BY THE ACTION OF THE SAID KNIFE TO INCLUDE AT LEAST SEVERAL LAYERS OF THE STACK AND AT AN ANGLE TO THE V OF THE BLOCK. 